


The Scarf, My Love

by toesalignedarch



Series: Mystery Universe [2]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Dorks in Love, Ethari's scarf origin story, M/M, also touchy feely Ethari, because they Love each other and they aren't afraid to show it, fluff?, morning after shenanigans, touchy feely Runaan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:13:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22246888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toesalignedarch/pseuds/toesalignedarch
Summary: They get a little carried away the night Runaan presents Ethari with a set of horn cuffs he made himself. The morning after presents a new set of challenges.(takes place before the last scene in a Part of Your Mystery but can also be read independently!)
Relationships: Ethari/Runaan (The Dragon Prince), Runaan/Ethari
Series: Mystery Universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1601464
Comments: 4
Kudos: 155





	The Scarf, My Love

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this is an expansion of Part of Your Mystery that I was inspired to write after I realized something I thought I'd fleshed out in the original wasn't actually there (oops)
> 
> If you haven't read PoYM, here's what you need to know: Runaan tries to surprise Ethari with a romantic dinner for two but Ethari is so suspicious of it that Runaan finally just gives him the horn cuffs and proposes.

Ethari blamed the horn cuffs. He also blamed himself—and Runaan as well—but when he actually took the time and thought about it, all of his current problems stemmed from the horn cuffs.   
  
The first and most pressing problem was that he was exhausted. Mentally, physically, emotionally, all of it— exhausted. Going from thinking that Runaan didn’t want to be with him anymore (however briefly) to finding his love on his knees with a pair of horn cuffs—that Runaan had crafted himself!—was quite the thrill and the night only became more draining (but in a good way, this time) from there.   
  
Plus, he was starving, since he didn’t actually get to eat the romantic dinner for two that Runaan had planned due to Ethari’s ever growing suspicions about the whole occasion. All the ensuing activities didn’t help either.   
  
Could anyone really blame him, though; after all, it had been his first night spent with his betrothed of course, and the first night of many where every time he shifted his head against the pillows he felt the unusual weight on his horns and was reminded that Runaan had proposed. To him.  
  
Just the thought of being with Runaan for the rest of his life made Ethari blush. He looked at his beloved, who was still sprawled on the bed, his face tranquil and blissful. It was rare for Ethari to wake before him—“discipline and schedule is crucial,” Runaan often said whenever Ethari questioned his decisions to wake up before dawn—but it wasn’t unheard of. Runaan was a light sleeper but was particularly prone to sleeping in after they made love.   
  
Ethari’s stomach growled and Runaan let out a small groan. The sleeping elf turned onto his side with a sigh and only then did Ethari see the long red lines down his exposed side. Moon above, had he done that? Perhaps he needed to trim his nails. Then again, his lover hadn’t complained about the making of the scratches last night...  
  
Another resounding grumble from Ethari’s body was what finally roused Runaan into consciousness. The elf sat up, stretching his arms above his head. Ethari tried his best not to stare but was unable to tear his gaze away from the line of muscles and imprints of sheets on his beloved’s naked torso.   
  
“Like what you see?” Runaan asked when his eyes finally peeled open and fell upon Ethari’s heated gaze.  
  
“Very much so,” Ethari purred. He couldn’t help himself; he crawled back onto the bed and planted a light kiss on Runaan’s lips. “Sleep well?”  
  
“Very much so,” Runaan echoed with a soft smile. They gazed into each other eyes for a quiet moment, only to be ruined by yet another loud complaint from Ethari’s stomach. Runaan laughed and playfully pushed him off the bed. “Someone’s hungry,” he commented as he shoved aside the blankets and rolled to his feet. Ethari reached his hand out to touch his betrothed now that he was fully exposed but Runaan slapped it away. “Don’t start something you can’t finish,” he warned.  
  
“Who said I can’t finish?” Ethari retorted, but he stepped aside anyway to let Runaan clean up the clothes on the floor that had been frantically discarded the previous evening.   
  
“Your dinner should still be on the table,” Runaan said. He was putting on a clean shirt and slipping on a new pair of pants and he threw a tunic at Ethari, which thumped him in the chest for he was too busy lamenting the loss of the view to catch it in time. Runaan rolled his eyes as Ethari grinned sheepishly. Moon above, Runaan was beautiful even when he was exasperated.   
  
As his betrothed started straightening out their sheets and blankets, Ethari turned to admire his new horn cuffs in the mirror. They sat so snugly, so perfectly on his horns that had he not known better he would’ve guessed a professional smith had crafted them. And the turquoise gemstones that matched Runaan’s eyes perfectly were so beautiful that it took Ethari’s breath away just looking at their reflection. He was about to ask Runaan where he learned to work with metal when his eye caught on something else.  
  
“Moon above,” Ethari hissed.   
  
Runaan perked up. “What’s wrong, my love?”  
  
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” Ethari whirled to face him and pointed to the line of darkening bruises that traveled from his jaw down to the edge of his shoulder.   
  
Runaan blinked. “I don’t see anything wrong,” he said nonchalantly (though Ethari knew that Runaan loved seeing his marks on his skin).  
  
“You know I don’t own anything that covers my neck,” Ethari responded agitatedly. “And all of my tops are sleeveless!” 

With a sly grin, Runaan walked over to him and pressed the tip of a finger into one of the bruises. Ethari blushed furiously but refused to back down. “What ever happened to ‘keeping intimate affairs private’ hm? Wasn’t it you who so adamantly refused to let me kiss you in public?”  
  
“That was before I proposed,” Runaan said smugly. Then he frowned. “Are they truly bothering you?” he asked in a softer voice.  
  
“No,” Ethari admitted. He loved seeing the evidence of their love and Runaan knew that. “It’s just…” he gestured at the bruises. “There’s a lot of them”—he had to stop himself from punching Runaan in the arm (affectionately, probably) when the assassin smirked at him—“and between the new cuffs and these marks I think I might not be able to withstand all the attention.”  
  
“Oh,” said Runaan. He ran a gentle hand over the marks, watching the goosebumps appear on Ethari’s skin. “Well, in that case, I apologize for what’s about to happen when we step outside,” he murmured, kissing a bruise between every word, “but I won’t apologize for giving you these. Or for the cuffs.”  
  
“And I would never want you to,” Ethari replied tenderly. “I love these cuffs, and I do like the marks. They might just be too much for me combined.”  
  
Runaan hummed. “If only you had something to cover them up,” he said, pressing his lips lightly to the last mark in the line, the one on the tip of Ethari’s shoulder.  
  
“All of my extra fabric is in the forge,” Ethari lamented with a dramatic roll of his eyes. “Otherwise I’d make something, just for today—”  
  
A swatch of purple caught his eye: it was the cloth Runaan had used to conceal the horn cuffs last night. Ethari had carefully folded the cloth and put it away because if Runaan had saved the mess of a “quilt” that he’d wrapped the bowblade in (listen, Ethari had lost track of time and needed to throw something together to wrap the gift and the only thing he had was some fabric scraps) then by the Moon, Ethari was going to save the purple fabric. Originally he’d thought they would look nice hanging on the wall together, but now… he had other plans.  
  
Ethari tossed on the tunic Runaan had thrown at him and snatched up the cloth. As Runaan watched with one elegantly raised eyebrow, the craftsman wrapped the purple material around his neck, letting the ends dangle loosely in front of him. He turned to his betrothed and spread his arms. “How do I look?”  
  
“Beautiful as always.”  
  
“The scarf, my love,” Ethari said, trying to ignore the blush spreading on his cheeks and the pleased smile on Runaan’s.  
  
“It’s actually not bad,” Runaan said. “Considering I didn’t measure it out specifically when I wrapped your cuffs.”  
  
Ethari spun back to face the mirror. “It could use a little adjustment here and right here,” he muttered more to himself than to Runaan. “But it’ll do for now.”   
  
Runaan stepped up behind him and wrapped his long arms around Ethari’s waist. “It’s quite a nice scarf,” he whispered into his ear. “I think you should wear it more often, even if you don’t need to. That way”—he pressed a tender kiss to the back of Ethari’s neck—“you can always feel me here.”  
  
Ethari didn’t respond; he just smiled and placed his hands on top of Runaan’s.  
  
“Are you ready to face the crowds with that scarf and those lovely new horn cuffs of yours?”  
  
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Ethari replied. “But first, breakfast.”  


**Author's Note:**

>  _come say hi on[tumblr](https://toesalignedarch.tumblr.com/)!_ :)


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